Though he's an insanely blessed, multitasking veteran of the whacked-out entertainment world, Jesse McCartney keeps his priorities straight. During a year in which he turned 21, co-wrote a No. 1 single (Bleeding Love for Leona Lewis), landed TV and movie roles and rated a mention in People's "Sexiest Man Alive" issue, what he's most pumped up about is ... "The kitchen."

The animated The Clone Wars, with its brightly colored computer animation, characters designed to look like wooden Thunderbirds-style marionettes and a decidedly silly tone to the action, suggests Star WarsJr. more than the dark psychodrama that adults preferred in the franchise's core films.

You'll know you're in a different galaxy within the first seconds of "Star Wars: The Clone Wars," which substitutes the Warner Bros. logo and theme music for the familiar 20th Century Fox searchlight and fanfare.

Hollywood hasn't run out of comic book titles just yet. Here comes anime, starting with Speed Racer May 9. And they think they've found it in anime. Leading the charge are the nerd kings who grew up on the Asian cartoons, Andy and Larry Wachowski, whose Speed Racer arrives in theaters May 9.

Viacom's betting that millions will check out the third-season premiere of Nickelodeon's quirky, anime-influenced series Avatar: The Last Airbender. It's the first fantasy action series targeted to boys at a network known for lighter fare such as SpongeBob Square Pants.

Goodbye, Snoopy and Charlie Brown. Say hello to SpongeBob SquarePants, Dora the Explorer and Jimmy Neutron. The Mall of America has signed a branding-rights deal with the cable television network Nickelodeon for the megamall's indoor amusement park, according to the Star Tribune.

The Nickelodeon network is giving its young viewers the chance to create cartoons, instead of just watch them. Nick has just made available on its website technology that allows young fans to make cartoon mashups of different scenes from favorites like SpongeBob SquarePants and Avatar and distribute them to their friends.